The Culture Of Rwanda: People, Religion & Education

Your name Course Professor 19th April, 2018 The Culture of Rwanda Rwanda is a tiny landlocked East African nation, sandwiched between Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country is popularly referred to as a ‘land of thousand hills’ due to its beautiful and hilly landscape. The country has a hilly geographical terrain comprising of thick rain forests, rare plant and animal species and several national parks. Rwanda is also renowned for its rich cultural heritage and people comprising of Hutus, Tutsi and Batwa tribes who collectively comprise the Banyarwanda people. This essay sets out to discuss the Rwandan culture and will focus on the people, religion, education, language, national dishes and the country’s creative and performing arts. The Rwandan people can be divided into three main tribes, namely the Hutus, Tutsi and Batwa. The Hutus and Tutsi are the country’s dominant tribes while Batwa, regarded as the indigenous and most primitive Rwandan tribe is the smallest (UgandaSafarisTours.com, 2014). The country’s two largest tribes have had a feudal past culminating into a genocide that led to the massacre of more than 1million people. The Tutsi who are predominantly cattle herders are considered to be superior to the Hutus and Batwa due to their social, economic and political dominance (Inter-continentalCry.com 2012). The Hutus are largely peasant farmers and are considered subservient to the elite Tutsi. On the other hand, Batwa is mostly regarded as the forgotten Rwandan tribe. They are largely hunters and gatherers and historically, Rwanda’s most creative porters. They are the smallest tribe comprising about 0.4% of the population and an estimated total population of 86,000-112,000, while the Hutu and Tutsi constitute 85% and 14% of Rwanda’s total population respectively (UgandaSafarisTours.com, 2014). The three ethnic groups comprise the country’s single cultural and linguistic group known as the Banyarwanda. Rwandan religions can be divided into three main groups namely Christians who comprise 95% of the population, Muslims and traditional indigenous religions (EveryCulture.com 2010). Based on a 2013 US Government report and on the country’s 2002 census, 56.9% of the Rwandan people are Roman Catholics, while Protestants (Pentecostals) and Seventh Day Adventists comprise 26% and 11.1% of the population respectively (WorldAtlas.com 2008). On the other hand, only 4.6% and 0.1 % of the population practice Islam and African traditional beliefs. However, 1.7% of the population has no religious affiliation. The country’s protestant population is rapidly growing, especially the Jehovah witness and Evangelical religious groups, even though the Baha and other charismatic groups emerged after the 1994 genocide. There are also few Hindus and Buddhists whose religious practices are largely informal and secretive and whose population remains largely insignificant (WorldAtlas.com 2008). Rwanda has a robust educational sector comprising largely of public and Christian missionary run schools, with a growing private educational sector. Historically, the Rwandan public educational sector emerged in the 1950s and has rapidly expanded since the country’s independence (Nationsencyclopedia.com 2...